The New Jerusalem, Part 2

Revelation chapter 2 is where we are, the New Jerusalem, the capital city of heaven. When Jesus came to earth, the very first sermon he preached in Matthew chapter 5, the Serm on the Mount.

He said, These words: rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven. Is great. He would go on to say in Matthew chapter 6, verse number 19, that we are to lay up treasures in heaven. To make sure that we understand the importance of living a life that glorifies the Lord, that we are to look heavenward. And then later on in Matthew chapter 19, as Christ had a Conversation with a rich young ruler. He said these words in verse number 21: If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven.

Come and follow me. Christ would talk about the reward of heaven. He would talk about the riches of heaven. He would talk about the treasure in heaven. Paul would go on to say in his epistle about how he had a hope laid up in heaven for him. He talked about the crown of righteousness and the crown of rejoicing. And for all those who love the Lord's appearing, they too will receive that crown of righteousness. And Peter would come along and speak about the inheritance that's incorruptible and undefiled and that never fades away, that's reserved in heaven for you.

And so when we come to Revelation 21, we're able to see a little bit about what heaven is, the place of God's abode, and what is there as we anticipate. The time in which we will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And it says in verse number 2 of Revelation 21: And I saw the holy city. New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And we spend time looking at those first eight verses as A way of introduction to this new city.

And when you come to verse number 9 of Revelation 21, the rest of that chapter on into Revelation 22, the first five verses, emphasize that capital city, the new Jerusalem.

And last week we talked about the invitation to that city in verse number nine when an angel, one of the seven angels who had one of the seven bowls, came to John and said, Come here and I shall show you the bride, the wife. Of the Lamb. There was an invitation given to John to come and see the bride, to come and see the city that's adorned in all of its beauty. And then we came to verse number 10. We saw the presentation of the city. It says in verse number 10, and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city.

Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper. We talked about the presentation of that city as John would see it coming down out of heaven with the key element having the glory of God. Radiating throughout that city and on through the new heaven and the new earth, so we're able to see the glory of Almighty God. We went from the presentation of the city to the construction of the city. That's in verse number 11.

And it says it had a great and high wall with 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels, and the names were written on them. Which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east, and three gates on the north, and three gates on the south, and three gates on the west, in the wall of the city Had twelve foundation stones, and on them were twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. We talked about the construction of that city and what entailed was the inc of those from the Old Testament as well as those From the New Testament.

And then we went to talk about the dimensions of the city. That's in verses 15 to 18. And it says, and the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its walls and the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width. And he measured the city with the rod fifteen hundred miles. Its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall seventy two yards, according to the human measurements, which are also angelic. measurements and the material of the wall was jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass.

And the emphasis here is the fact that everything is transparent. Why? Because the glory of God is going to be seen and Reflected throughout that entire city, ultimately to the entire heaven, the new heaven, and the new earth. And now we come to the foundation. Of the city, and the things we're going to talk about this evening are quite remarkable, quite unbelievable, and yet they are in the Word of God and they help us to understand this new city, this city of Jerusalem, this place. which houses the ab of God.

So in verse number nineteen we see these words The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of preci stone. The first foundation stone was jasper.

We talked about that being that clear crystal diamond-like stone. The second was sapph. A sapphire is a brilliant blue stone. The third, Chalcedony, which is a sky blue color.

The fourth was em, which is a bright green the fifth, sardonyx, which is a red and white coloured stone. The sixth was Sard, which is a red stone. The seventh crystallite, which is a lucid gold-colored stone. The eighth was beryl, which is a sea green coloured stone. The ninth, topaz, which is a transparent yellow green stone. The tenth was Chrys. Which is a green stone. The ele was Jacin, which is a violet, which is a violet stone, excuse me. And the twelfth was amethyst, which is a purple stone.

You can imagine the glory of God being reflected throughout these foundational stones as John would see the city and And look at the foundations.

And then it says this, which I think is very significant in verse number 21. And the 12 gates were 12 pearls. Now, you've heard of the pearly gates, and many things are said about the pearly gates and what's going to happen when you go into that new city. Well, they. They are pearly gates, but they're really gates of pearl. There are 12 huge pearls, and they are 1 miles high. Because the gates go as high as the city goes. Can you imagine that? Now listen, this is very significant. Because the spiritual illustration behind this help you understand the element of true worship throughout eternity.

Listen to what J. Phillips says in his commentary on the book of Revelation when he comes to this text to help us understand the significance of the pearl. He says, how appropriate. All other precious gems are metals or stones, but a pearl is a gem formed within the oyster. The only one formed by living flesh. The humble oyster received an irritation or a wound. and around the offending article that has penetrated and hurt it, the oyster builds a pearl. The pearl, we might say, is the answer of the oyster to that which injured it.

The glory land is God's answer in Christ. to wicked men who crucified heaven's bel and put him to open shame. How like God it is to make the gate to the New Jerusalem of pearl The saints, as they come and go, will be forever reminded as they pass the gates of glory that access to God's home is only because of Calvary. Think of the size of those gates. Think of the supernatural pearls from which they are made. What gigantic suffering is symbolized by those gates of pearl. Throughout the endless ages, we shall be reminded by those pearly gates of the immensity of the sufferings of Christ, those pearls.

Hung eternally at the access routes to glory, will remind us forever of one who hung upon a tree and whose answer to those who injured him was to invite them to share his home. Isn't that unique? Is there a significance behind the gates being made out of pearl? Maybe so. Because you see, when we get to heaven, you have to understand that, and we're going to talk about it in a moment, that throughout heaven is worship. That goes on for eternity. And what is going to keep us worship God? The very fact.

That as we go in and out of the city, we are constantly reminded of the one aspect that allowed us to enter the city: the sufferings of Christ on Calvary. Is it any wonder that Paul would tell Timothy in 2 Timothy, verse number 8, to remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from the dead? Paul would have to tell another pastor to remember Christ and to remember a certain aspect of Christ, and that is not only the fact that he came to earth. In human flesh, but he came to die for the sins of the world.

Why? So that you and I would have access into glory. Is it not true that the greatest part of our worship is when we remember what Jesus Christ did for us? That's what causes us to worship Him. Is it any wonder that when we get to eternity, there's going to be worship forever because we will be constantly reminded of what got us there: the sufferings of Christ. And is it any wonder that Christ is referred to in the book of Revelation 28 times as the Lamb. That's his apocalyptic name. And he will always have the wounds, the nail scars.

In his hands, his feet, in his side. Why? To remind us of the great sacrifice. And that's what will cause us to want to worship God for all eternity, is the constant remembrance of what He did for us. Is it not true that when we leave this place this evening and we go home and maybe we watch television, maybe we get a snack, we go to bed, we wake up tomorrow, we don't remember the sacrifice of Christ. We don't remember Calvary. We don't remember the price paid for our sins. It's when we remember those things we are caused to fall down and worship our God.

And so when you look at the foundational elements of the city, the foundational elements of the city are made up of one significant thing, and that is the symbolism of the sufferings of Christ.

That will remind us of what it took to get us there. The blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord. What a significant element. Of the city of Jerusalem. The next thing I want you to see are what I call the exclusions from the city. I want you to see what is not there. Because the first thing that John sees is what is not there.

There's something excluded from the city. And it says in verse number 22 these words: and I saw no temple in it. John says, I saw no temple. Now, you have to recall our study of the book of Revelation: that every time we were taken up into glory, what did we see? We saw a temple. We saw a throne in heaven. You can go back to Revelation 7, Revelation 11, Revelation 14, Revelation 15, Revelation 16, Revelation chapter And there's a temple in heaven. There are articles there that remind us of a temple in heaven.

There's going to be a temple in the millennial kingdom. When Christ rules on this earth, there's going to be a temple there in the city of Jerusalem, there in Israel, and he will rule from that temple. But John says, when I saw the new city, there was no temple in it. Which in itself is very significant. He says there is no structure in this heavenly city of a temple. And then he tells us. For the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple. This is so good. Because John says, all those symbols that we have already seen in the book of Revelation.

All those things in the temple that would point to God and all that He is and all that He would do no longer exists. Why? Simply this because eternal life will be the worship. Of the constant pres of God. It says over in verse number 3 of Revelation 21. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God him shall be among them. The significance of this is great. Why? Because there's no place to go to worship God.

There is no facility. To go to worship God, there's not going to be a day of worship, there's not going to be a day of prayer, there's not going to be a facility where you go and do those kinds of things. This is so good. Because you see, we need to understand this. Because is it not true that when we think of worship, we think of going to a particular place to worship? Now, of all the people who wrote about worship, John would write about it in his gospel, right? Remember the story back in John chapter 4 of the woman at the well, that woman of Samaria?

Christ would have a conversation with her, and she asked a very significant question in Revelation in John chapter 4, verse number 20. Our fathers worship in this mountain. And you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. And she says, listen, which place are we to worship? And Christ says, you got it all wrong.

It's not about going to a place to worship. It's about worship a person. And listen to what Christ says.

Jesus said to her woman, Believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father. There's coming a time where this place over here and that place over there are not going to be significant. Why? Because verse number 22, you worship that which you do not know. We worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is. Right now it is, lady. That hour is right now.

Why? Because he says these words: when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people the Father seeks to be his worship. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. He says, listen, the time is now.

The time is now because my father is seeking true worship. My father is seeking a certain kind of person. And that person is one who worships God in spirit and in truth. Why? Listen carefully. True worship has nothing to do with a place. It has everything to do with the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. But we get caught up in the whole framework of, you know what, we got to go to church to worship God. We got to go to the place of worship. Where do you worship? Well, I worship at the Baptist Church, or I worship at the Methodist Church, or I worship at the First Congregational Church, or I wors With that church.

The problem with that is when you leave that place, you leave your worship behind. The problem with that is that God is seeking true worship. That is, he is seeking people who bow in subjection to his lordship every moment of every day. Because they want to serve him and honor him and glorify his name. And when you get to heaven, there is no place you go because the presence of God fills the city of Jerusalem. And the glory of the Lord fills the new heaven and the new earth. It's all about God. It's all about the presence of God.

Is it true that God is omnip? That God is everywhere. Yes, it is. But you and I don't recognize that. You and I don't grasp the fact that when we get in our car and drive home tonight, that God is there. When we get underneath our sheets, God is there. When we go to the bathroom, God is there. When we eat breakfast, God is there. When we sin, God is there. God's everywhere. If we recognize that, we would worship him all the time. And that leads us to chapter 22: the characterization of the city. It says in verse number one, and he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

The river of the w of life. What is that? Well, it's not H2O. It's not water like you and I know water. It's crystal clear water. And why wouldn it be crystal clear? Because it too is going to reflect the glory of God like everything else does. Something else that characterizes this city. It says in verse number 2, in the middle of its streets and on either side of the river was the tree of life. The tree, literally, which is life. And in that city, there is this tree which is filled with life. B twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

So you think that after a while heaven's going to be boring, but no, it's not. Why? Because this tree of life. prod twelve kinds of fruit that speak of the variety of the plenty, the variety of the life and its fullness in glory. The regular cycle of joyous provision filled with variety, changing all the time. Heaven is not going to be the same. It's going be changing all the time. And the variety there is going to be exciting. And then it says the leaves were for healing. And that gets a lot of people confused because you think, well, wait a minute.

There's not going to be a curse there. There's not going to be any sickness there. There's not going to be any death there because there's no sin there. So, what on earth needs to be healed? And why would there be a tree that produces leaves for the healing of the nations? It says in verse number three.

And there shall no longer be any curse in the throne of God, and that the Lamb shall be in it, and his bonds. Shall serve him. To emphasize the fact that the leaves of the tree are not for healing physically or healing any kind of illness or sickness that's there, he emphasized the fact there's no curse. There's no pain, there's no blood, there's no sweat, there's no tears. The results of the fall no longer exist. This is the new heaven. This is The new earth. He says, We shall serve him. And then it says, and they shall see his face.

And his name shall be on their foreheads. You're going to see his face. No man can see the face of God and live. But an immortal man can see the face of God and live. He dwells in unapproachable light, but in our glorified bodies, we'll be able to see him face to face. We'll be able to commune with our God face to face. What a day that will be. Being perfectly holy and perfectly righteous. We'll be able to endure the blazing glory of Almighty God. What a day. His name is going to be on our foreheads, im ownership.

And then it says, verse number five, and there shall no longer be any nights. And they shall not have need of the light of a lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them. You know, he just keeps repeating the same thing about the brightness of God. Because John just is come or dumbfounded by what he sees. I mean, you don't need to turn on the lights. Because God's the light. An amazing thing. Everything is illumined by God. It's amazing. And they shall reign forever. Endeavor.

We're going to reign forever. Over in Revelation chapter 3. It says this in verse number 21. He overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. Isn't that great? We're going to sit down on God's throne and we're going to reign with Him forever and ever. We're going to reign with Him. We're going to serve Him. We're going to worship H We're going to praise him. What an amazing time. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2, verse number 9: that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for him.

Paul says, You can't believe what you're going to see. You can't believe what you're going to hear. And you can't believe what you're going to do. You can't even imagine it. Oh, you can sit in your bed and you can lay up at night trying to think of all the marvelous things you're going to do in heaven, but you can't do it. Because this is the God life. This is the great life. This is God's life in man. This is what He wants to do for you. Listen.

If God has prepared a place for you, it's the perfect place. It's not a bad place. Paul would say these words. 2 Timothy 2. If we died with him, we shall live with him. If you've been crucified with Christ, you're going to live with him. And he says, if we endure, we shall also reign with him. If we endure, let me ask you a question.

Are you faithful to God? Have you confessed him? Have you died to yourself? Have you been crucified with Christ? I tr you know for certain that if you died tonight, you'd spend eternity with your God. If not, you can know. Because the Bible says you can know for certain.

Where you will spend eternity. I trust you'll spend it with the Lord Jesus.